Norway’s football team fans have taken the internet by storm with legendary “Viking Row” celebrations.
After Norway’s thrilling 3-2 victory over Senegal on Monday, June 22, which marked the team’s first World Cup knockout stage appearance since 1998, players and supporters united in a mesmerising display of solidarity.
Celebrating their team’s victory, the fans sat in formation, mimicking the rowing of a Viking longship, while a drummer set the rhythm and the crowd roared with each synchronised pull.
The ritual came about because of the viral pre-match photo shoot carried out by British photographer David Yarrow called “The Vikings are Coming,” where the Norwegian team appeared wearing Viking outfits. The captain, Martin Odegaard, and the top goal scorer for the team, Erling Haaland, were very much into it.
The fans took to Times Square to celebrate with thousands marching to King Harald V’s palace with loud chants: “We’re going to wake the king!”
The Norwegian coach, Ståle Solbakken, called the celebration “a gimmick,” but culture specialists say there is more behind it. Just as in the case of Iceland’s Thunderclap and New Zealand’s Haka, the Viking Row involves the spectators in the ritual, blurring the boundaries between the players and the fans. It even made its way to the Norwegian Parliament.
